Cook du Jour

To nominate an amateur cook from Ventura County to be Cook du Jour, send an e-mail to mblackwell@vcstar.com. To read all Cook du Jour recipes and articles, view them here: http://www.vcstar.com/news/lifestyles/columnists/eve-smythe/

Joseph A. Garcia/The Star Cook du Jour Diane Mautner, Oxnard, shows her Apricot Strudel, which she said she has been making for more than 30 years.

PHOTO BY JOSEPH GARICA/STAR STAFF Maison Ens of Camarillo, The Star's Cook du Jour this week, shows off her vanilla cupcakes. "Baking from scratch doesn't take that much longer, but tastes so much better," she said.

PHOTOP BY JUAN CARLO Rebecca Stuebing of Camarillo shows off one of her specialties — French Toast Casserole.

Katie Anderson of Westlake Village with her wedding apron brings her Superbowl BLT Sandwich.

Juan Carlo / Star staff

A Bundt cake is a yearly tradition for Lois Grooms, who learned from her grandmother.

Cook du Jour Liz Nichol poses with her stuffed mushrooms. "Some of my friends make their own vanilla extract, so when I use store-bought items, of course it looks like I'm cheating and cutting corners," she said. "I'm just being smart with my time."

Cook du Jour Kay Rich with her meatloaf. "If there's leftovers you can make meatloaf sandwiches," she said. "This comfort food is the kind of thing a grandmother would make."

Angela Fajardo presents her Albondigas soup made from an old family recipe. "Everybody loves my soup," she said.

Cook du Jour Ken Hamilton, 36, poses with his Shabbat fish stew. "If you want to eat good food, you have to do it yourself," he said.

Cook du Jour Heather Harrison poses with a bowl of salmon pasta salad. "Cooking is a passion of mine," she noted, "but it only comes out when I have the time."

Joel Reznick of Thousand Oaks displays his Burger Margarita — a hamburger patty mixed with heirloom-tomato sauce and then topped with mozzarella, basil and a slice of heirloom tomato, served on focaccia bread with a side of fresh mozzarella and sliced tomato.

Cook ju Jour Marie Perry displays AJ's Favorite Lemon Muffins. "For his birthday A.J. can choose any dessert and he chose my muffins," she said of her 9-year-old son.

Cook du Jour Jennifer Lyons poses with her green rice. She said the rice is "quick, easy and good."

Marsha Anderson of Ventura displays her Nova Scotia-based kimbly or "groaning cake." The sweet loaf, which features a rich blend of molasses and eggs, is offered to new mothers after a birth or christening of a child.

Cook du jour Jessica Gesell displays her Morning Glory breakfast sandwich featuring egg, cheese, bacon and hot Italian sausage. Gesell said she came up with the idea all by herself and shares that on her food blog at http://www.mommybistro.com/category/breakfast.

Cook du Jour Jeri Miller of Simi Valley shows results of her Petit Fours Tres Bien recipe, which she said is included in the "Friendship Tea at Strathearn Park" tea recipe collection. The book is being sold as a fundraiser for the Simi Valley Historical Society. Friendship Tea is an annual event at Strathearn Historical Park and Museum.

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Cook du jour Kim Tausch poses with her Tex Mex Brunch Strata. "Brunch is the best way to entertain," she said.

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Cook du jour Betty McFarlin shares her chicken and dumplings recipe. "When someone hands me a recipe, I look at it and make it my own." McFarlin said.

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Christine Lapointe holds her Baja Shrimp Stuffed Poblano Pepper. "I was inspired to create this recipe because I go to Baja once a year, and I love the flavors and seafood used in their cooking," she said.

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TROY HARVEY/THE STAR Jennifer Chastain holds her Vidalia onion dip. "It's one of those things that are rich and yummy, and I can only make it for big occasions," she noted.

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Cook du jour Jen Ringler, along with her daughter Berkley, displays her grandma's sugar cookies. "The sugar cookies are very small, thin, but when you put them in your mouth, they just melt," Ringler said.

Cook du Jour Peter Maccarrone of Thousand Oaks poses with a dish of chicken with broccoli and white beans."The more color you can add, the more we want to eat it," Maccarrone said. "We eat with our eyes."

Cook du Jour Melissa Weis of Ojai displays her quick and easy risotto dish. "I like to cook because I enjoy food," she said.

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Cook Eloise Maitland shows off her Belgian waffles. The dish is "perfect for special occasions," she said.

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Adam Casillas of Oxnard presents his baby back ribs topped with his spicy sauce. "Grilling is my area," he says. "That's what I like to do."

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Cook du jour Modestine Tardif displays her chicken and Swiss cheese dish. "I make my first version of a recipe exactly the way it's written,' she said. "Then I change it up by using spices, because I know my herbs and spices — and how they work well."

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Cook du Jour Paul Campbell of Westlake Village shows off his Brunswick stew dish at the Ventura County Star studio. "I'm attached to the results," he said about his cooking. "It's just a great tool to get your friends together."

Cook du Jour Sylvia Gabrie of Oxnard displays her baklava dish. "The love and time we put into cooking is a reflection of the love we have for our families," Gabrie said.

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Cook Du Jour Allison Costa of Ventura shares a dish of roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts with bacon. "I like taking all these ingredients and turning them into something, then having a tangible product that I can share," she said.

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Cook du Jour Kathy Powell displays her quiche dish. "Cooking is like art," she said. "It's like how artists build. It's my loving gift to cook for these people."

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Cook du Jour Irene Brennick displays her three-hour pasta. Requiring one hour of preparation and two hours of baking, the pasta dish is "simply heaven" with her dinner guests.

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Cook du Jour Carolee Feltch displays her lemon bar dish. "It's always a pleasure to see a smile on someone's face with a simple little treat," she said.

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Vicki Willis shows off her halftime chili, which was a hit at her Super Bowl party.

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Yolanda Escamilla of Oxnard has made improvements on a Pistachio Cake recipe she received from her aunt and cousin.

Cook du Jour Sue Manion displays her brownies, a favorite of friends and family. "Now I make them so everyone can love them," she said.

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Rick Dominguez displays his dish of shrimp and napoles. "I just like to cook," he said. "It's something to do, and everyone seems to like it."

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Vickie Mahan plucks a raspberry off her cheesecake as she presents it for her Cook Du Jour creation. The dish placed third in the dessert category at the recent Ventura County Fair. "It was a thrill to receive a great big ribbon," she said.

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Jennifer Dobbie of Ventura presents her ultimate veggie pizza with summer squash, kale, tomatoes, onions and garlic all locally organically grown from her Community Supported Agriculture box. "Pizza is one of the best things to have for dinner, lunch and breakfast," she explains. "Mine is a healthier version that's a flavor explosion in your mouth."

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Teri O'Connor of Newbury Park proudly holds up a batch of her oatmeal apricot cookies."I can bake a batch of cookies, then completely clean the kitchen within an hour. Practice makes perfect," she said.

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Erynn Smith of Ojai does a Groucho Marx imitation with her parsley pesto dish and homegrown vegetables.

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Susan Garcia of Camarillo shows off her award-winning Blue Ribbon Banana Cake. She got the recipe from her mother. Her cake won first place at the Ventura County Fair.

Andrea Lunde and her son Nicholas present her banana kale smoothie. "It's important to embrace healthy eating," Lunde said.

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Cook du Jour Lorie Davis of Newbury Park displays her green lasagna dish that she said she learned to make while living in Munich, Germany.

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Cook du jour John Edwards takes a bite of his peanut butter pie. Edwards received his greatest honor from a restaurant owner, who was so enamored with his pie that he asked for the recipe and then prepared it at his eatery.

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Cook du jour Pam Inoshita poses with her lemon cookies. "I think I've come to the point where I like how they taste," Inoshita said.

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Cook du Jour Rae-Anne Tran (right) of Oxnard and son Kai, age 5, display her Crock-Pot lasagna dish. "I only have a few hours when I get home for homework and bath time, but I want my family to have healthy meals, so it's important to use the Crock-Pot," she said.